During his playing days, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, he would not have volunteered to be interviewed on live television in the middle of a major league game.
But he doesn’t fault Los Angeles third baseman Kiké Hernández for making an error Friday night as he was speaking with broadcasters on the Apple TV+ telecast in the second inning at Yankee Stadium.
“I understand it’s part of sports now. And so unfortunately, Kiké made an error.
It’s not the only error he’s ever made,” Roberts said Saturday. “It’s part of sports, so I’m not going to — I pick my battles.”
Hernández had a microphone and earpiece in his left ear as he spoke with Wayne Randazzo and former big pitcher Dontrelle Willis on the broadcast.
After talking about Hernández’s decision to wear colorful cleats and the atmosphere in the ballpark, there was one out, no one on and a 1-2 count on Gleyber Torres when Willis asked.
“You guys are (a) very close-knit ballclub. Where does that come from?”
Torres hit a grounder to third, prompting Willis to say: “After this play.”
The ball hit Hernández on his bare right hand and ricocheted off his groin.
By the time he recovered and threw to first, Torres had crossed the bag.
Roberts initially wasn’t aware Hernández was being interviewed while in the field.
Asked if he went back and watched the exchange afterward, Roberts said: “No. God no.